Category: Community

All about Living in Lake Oswego, Oregon

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A New Year!

Oswego-LakeGreetings to all of our loyal and new Property Blotter readers!

As we enter our 5th year of publishing this insiders’ look at the Lake Oswego community and Real Estate scenes, we want to take a moment to thank you so much for your interest and patronage through the years! Dianne and I are as committed as ever to bringing you the micro-focused real estate information you count on, and also the perspective of Lake Oswego as part of the larger Portland Metro Area from time to time. Context is good… at least we think so : )

We both specialize in Lake Oswego property, considering the time we’ve spent living and working here, and we both also have been working all over the Greater Portland Area for many, many years, so please remember us if you know someone who needs a really experienced and reliable Realtor for any property “selling or buying adventure” in this larger geographic area!

Though our lives have changed through the years, the Property Blotter has remained constant, and we hope that you enjoy it as much as we do. Recently we have made one BIG change, and that is that we are now working with Oregon First Real Estate Company!  A change like this is the kind of thing that only occurs once in a very great while, and while we have been very pleased with our previous affiliation and will miss those with whom we’ve worked closely for some time, we are thrilled to be joining this vibrant, established local company with offices all over the Portland area and Vancouver!

Just for fun, I’ve pasted below our very first post from 2008, and after reading it, am feeling both nostalgic, and satisfied with the work we’ve committed ourselves to, and all we’ve accomplished with so many of you.

Happy New Year to each of you…. We toast YOU in 2013!

Welcome to the premier edition of the Property Blotter!

This blog is intended to be a fun and useful forum pertaining to real estate issues in the City of Lake Oswego. It will bring you information that directly reflects current market conditions.

It will also provide you with history of the area and insights into Lake Oswego’s vibrant community. You will find plenty of statistics and details about houses currently for sale and recently sold. You will also find neighborhood profiles and featured homes. And, yes, you’ll get commentary on local events and neighborhood happenings.

What you will not find is endless self-promotion and unneeded advertising. This is going to be a place to learn about Lake Oswego real estate and not a place that will waste your time. We don’t care for that sort of thing any more than you do.

And just who are we and why do we have any right to be doing this? We are Realtors who have each lived in Lake Oswego for some time and have been directly a part of this community. Between us we have 30 years of experience selling real estate in this fine community. Between us we have lived in Lake Oswego for 20 years. Our children have attended school here. We participated in sports here. We volunteered with local non-profits here. We know this town.

Lake Oswego is an amazing place to live. It is also seriously misunderstood. Yes, there are million-dollar homes in Lake Oswego. But more than money, Lake Oswego is a town that has people who care. It has always had great schools and so attracts families looking for excellent public schools. There are modest homes as well as lakeside estates.

If we are doing our job right, you’ll come away from this blog feeling like you know a bit more about what prices of homes are like, what is going on with local businesses, and what it is about LO that makes it a great place to live and to work. If you currently live here, you’ll know more about what your home may be worth. If you are thinking about moving here, you’ll know more about what to expect when you buy a home and what this community is like as a place to live.

So come along with us on this “blog-mobile”. It is going to be a great journey.

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Eve On The Lake

Eve-on-the-LakeWEB-HEADER8

The City of Lake Oswego is hosting its first annual Eve On The Lake. From 8pm to 2am, the event will feature endless hors d’ouvres, dancing, live music with Tom Grant and Shelley Rudolph, photo booths, surprise events during the countdown to midnight, and of course, a midnight champagne toast.

The event is being held at a seriously beautiful location right on the edge of Oswego Lake, 40 N State St, otherwise known as Stickmen Brewery and Skewery. There is a lakeside deck that can actually be used in the winter with plenty of heaters, but subject to weather. From inside there are lovely views of the water, so even if it is cold and rainy or snowy, you can still feel the beauty of the water.

Cost is $69. Proceeds from the event will go to the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. So you can ring in the New Year and also support an extremely worthwhile cause.

For more info, click here.

What a great way to ring in the New Year!

Linda and I want to wish you and yours a very safe, happy, and memorable New Year,
Dianne

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A Season of Giving

SantaYou can help to make the season a little brighter for those who are less fortunate by participating in a couple of different programs being offered here in Lake Oswego.

270,000 people per month eat meals from emergency food boxes provided by the Oregon Food Bank. Of those, 92,000 are children. Your donations are important, and needed. The City of Lake Oswego is accepting non-perishable food now through December 28th at City Hall, 380 A Avenue.

In addition, the Lake Oswego Fire Department and Library are conducting a Christmas Toy Drive. Drop off new, unwrapped toys at the Main Fire Station (300 B Avenue) or the Lake Oswego Library (706 4th Street) between now and 12pm on December 21st.

With a little effort, we can all make the season brighter.

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What’s in a Name?

If you’ve been reading the blotter for awhile, you know that we got the name of our blog by borrowing the Police Blotter from the Lake Oswego Review. The local newspaper does a weekly publication that along with showcasing local schools, businesses, and people, it posts the previous week’s police activity.

The Lake Oswego Police Department has a 100% response policy. That means that when you call, they show up, no matter what. So reading the police blotter can be rather entertaining. Below is from the previous two weeks.

7/23/12 1:15am. Apples are being chucked at a house on Aspen Street.

7/24/12 9:59am. A woman reported finding all kinds of things on her property on North Shore Road, including bicycles, helmets, and a surf board.

7/24/12 1:03pm. Four citations were slapped on a vehicle illegally parked at Lake View Village.

7/24/12 10:51pm. Several teens are jumping in and out of hedges and running around yards in a late-night frolic on Royce Way. Later they were honking horns and chasing each other in cars.

7/25/12 9:04am. Somebody placed a small beagle n a yard on Sierra Ct, then blocked a hole under the fence with wood so the pooch could not get out.

7/26/12 10:42pm. Hearty voices raised in song were heard coming from a pub on B Avenue.

7/26/12 11:43pm. A driver passed out in the middle State Street. He was not drunk but exhausted from his airline flight.

7/28/12 1:16pm. Condolea Drive was the site of a strange incident in which a pot was moved, two large plants were damaged and underwear was thrown into trees.

7/30/12 10:51am. A cat in a pot was discovered in a complex on Foothills Drive.

7/31/12 9:54am. A woman has decided to keep a pair of old handcuffs that she originally wanted to turn in to police.

8/1/12 9:34am. After buying a house, a person looked inside the garage and found 22 lights, causing suspicions that marijuana may be being cultivated inside the house.

8/1/12 8:48am. A female is dancing on the sidewalk, crossing the street and waving at people on B Avenue. It is suspected she may be high on more than life.

8/2/12 2:39pm. A missing St. Bernard named Myia was returned to its owner.

8/2/12 9:16pm. Five teenaged boys, four of them 16, had to clean up the mess from the garbage can they knocked over at Uplands Elementary School.

8/3/12 6:20pm. A cat triggered a burglar alarm on Brianne Court.

8/5/12 10:08am. A toilet in a woman’s bathroom on Melrose Street won’t stop flushing.

There you have it, two weeks on the mean streets of Lake Oswego. And, yes, I know the Police Blotter is now called the Police Log. Not sure why the Lake Oswego Review made the change, but it will always be the Blotter to me. And the propertyblotter will be the propertyblotter as well.

Stay cool in this heat. In LO it only lasts a few days.
Dianne

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LO Named One of 10 Best Towns for Families

Family Circle Maganzine has named Lake Oswego one of the Nation’s 10 best towns for families. This came as no surprise to me. It’s why I moved here. I think it’s why many people move here. This is simply a great place to raise kids.

Here is what Family Circle had to say:

Lake Oswego, Oregon

Population: 36,396
Median Income: $83,397
Median Home Price: $361,317
Households with Kids: 30%
Student/Teacher Ratio: 22:1
Great Schools Rating: 10

Beth Taylor, 53, rarely travels far from this scenic Portland suburb for family vacations. She and husband Mitch, a 52-year-old tech firm executive, along with kids Grant, 18, and Margaret, 9, have hiked in the Cascades, skied at Mount Hood and floated down the McKenzie River—all just a two- or three-hour drive away. The Taylors can also get their nature fix by walking out the front door, since their home borders a 645-acre forest known as Tryon Creek State Park. “When you’re on the trails, it’s easy to forget that you live anywhere near a city,” says Beth. But what she appreciates most about Lake Oswego is its caring citizens. To make up for school budget cuts, parents raised more than $2 million last year to hire teachers and keep classes small. And when Grant was hurt during a football game last October, two neighborhood doctors met Beth and Mitch in the ER for moral support and stayed with them through the night; when Grant returned home, the family’s voicemail and e-mail boxes were filled with hundreds of good wishes and their fridge had been stocked with food. “Not unusual at all,” says Beth. “People here go all out to support each other.”

Good Deeds: Every year students at Lake Oswego High spend one of their days off from school doing volunteer work, from cleaning the local library to mucking out stalls at a horse stable for disabled youth. In April 700 kids stepped up; next year’s goal is for all 1,200 to take part.

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Community Clean Up June 16th

Now is your chance to really dig into that spring cleaning and get rid of unwanted items. June 16th, from 9am to 12pm (or until the dumpsters are full) the city of Lake Oswego is sponsoring a community clean up event. There a 2 locations, each collecting different items.

West End Building, 4101 Kruse Way:

Rigid plastics: lawn furniture, barrels and buckets, toys, play houses, CDs and DVDs and their cases, laundry baskets, shelving, pet containers, totes, empty and clean garbage containers, landscaping trays and flower pots, automotive plastics

Scrap metal: non-freon appliances such as stoves, ovens, toasters, ladders, barbeques and other metal

Community Warehouse will be on hand to collect useable items like towels, pillows, chairs, dressers, sofas, dish sets, pots, pans, TVs, kitchen tables, microwaves, mattresses, bed sheets and bikes.

There are some restrictions:
No yard debris.
No hazardous waste (fuel, pesticides, etc)
No firearms or fireworks
No florescent bulbs
No batteries
No freon-based appliances (contact energy trust of Oregon at 866-444-8907 for ideas on disposal of these items)
No tires.

At River West Church, 2000 Country Club Rd, you can dispose of electronic waste such as computers, monitors, televisions, and other electronics.

The cost for getting rid of these items? You are asked to make a dontaion to the Oregon Food Bank.

This event is for citizens of Lake Oswego only. For more information, contact the Citizen Information Center at 503-635-0257.

Do we live in a cool town, or what?

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Iron Mountain Trail

Picnic with a view
As an avid walker and hiker, I was completely surprised about 2 weeks ago to learn about a wonderful trail not too far from my house. It’s called the Iron Mountain Trail.

The trail head starts at the top of Iron Mountain along Glen Eagles Rd. I don’t know the exact distance, but I would guess it at close to a mile long. It has an easy grade across the side of Iron Mountain and ends at Lake Oswego Country Club.

The trail is groomed with packed gravel and wide enough for a couple of friends to walk side by side. It is such a gentle slope because it was originally a rail road bed for the Oregon Iron Company.

Back in 1865 Iron was discovered in what is now Iron Mountain. There are still mine shafts in the mountain, although the entrance to the mine has been cemented over to prevent kids and animals from mishap.

About halfway along the trail there is a junction that you can also take that goes the opposite direction along Iron Mountain but down to the The Hunt Club. The views that direction are lovely as well. You get a birds eye view of the horses and the arenas.

One of the great things that makes Lake Oswego a great place to live is the ability to take nice walks and hikes. This trail is now one of the options that I will make regular use of.

Dianne

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This is Earthquake Country

Earthquake fault
Cascadia Subduction Zone
While not as famous as our neighbor to the South, Oregon is very much earthquake country.

Some background
When recently visiting LO City Hall, I found a wealth of interesting information on a variety of topics, one of which is a handy little magazine called “Living on Shaky Ground“. It’s published by Oregon Emergency Management and is available for free.

We happen to live right on top of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. This zone has a history of 8.0 and 9.0 (we are talking HUGE earthquakes) that goes back 10,000 years with these big quakes happening on average every 250 years. It’s now been 312 years since the last big quake. So it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

So, what can you do? In particular, when it comes to your home and buying a house.

When buying a home inspect, inspect, inspect

A good home inspector will look at the house from a perspective of its structural soundness. If the inspector has concerns, he or she should recommend further inspection be done by a seismic engineer.

I was recently involved in the potential sale of a home that was partially built on stilts with a very sloped lot. I was representing the buyer. Our home inspector determined that the substructure of the stilts provided for East and West support (or shaking) but not for North and South. Basically the Nouthern stilts all sat on the same retaining wall with no lateral bracing. In an earthquake, any shaking from the North to the South would cause that retaining wall to fall over and, yep, the house would go down the hill. Needless to say, my buyer chose to end that transaction and ended up purchasing an entirely different home.

If a more in-depth inspection is required by a seismic engineer, expect to spend about $250 for a sight visit. At this visit you will be able to walk the property and get a naration of what the engineer thinks. If you want to proceed and you want specific observation put into writing, that would include corrective measures to create a secur home, expect to spend several thousand dollars.

Consider getting earthquake insurance

There are limitations to what homes can qualify for earthquake insurance. Most insurance companies will not issue it to older homes. But if your home was built in the last 50 or so years, it may be eligible. And if it is, it is not that expensive to add as a rider to your home owner’s policy. Look into it.

Consider getting your home retrofitted

Newer homes are built to modern codes and standards that do take earthquakes into consideration. So newer homes are going to be more seismicly sound. However, older homes can be retro-fitted. Strapping the house to the foundation, installing cripple walls in the crawlspace, bolting the mudsills to the foundations: these are just a few of the possible corrective measures to make an older home more seismicly worthy.

Some thoughts

In 1993, Oregon had 3 strong earthquakes. I was awoken from sleep by the “Springbreak Quake”, a 5.6 magnitude quake centered about 25 miles South of Lake Oswego in Scotts Mills. That same year Klamath Falls in Southern Oregon had 5.9 and 6.0 earthquakes. Being awoken from sleep by an earthquake makes you feel like you have been through something quite extraordinary. I can not even imagine the shock and destruction of experiencing an 8.0 or 9.0 quake.

Preparedness is the key. Do some research, think about preparing your family and your home for living through an earthquake.

I have recently read quite a bit that the way to react to an earthquake is to get into what is called “The Triangle of Life”. This involves laying against furniture or large objects so that your body is contained in the triangle created between the top of the object and the floor. According to the Oregon Emergency Management Office this is NOT the best response. They recommend DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON. Get underneath a sturdy object, on your knees and crouching on the floor, tuck your head between your arms, and hold onto the object that is protecting you. Almost all scientific, government, and relief organizations, including the Red Cross, are now recommending this method.

Let’s hope it doesn’t happen. Proper Prior Planning being one of my favority policies, do take earthquakes seriously. For a copy of “Living on Shaky Ground”, click here.

As always, thanks for reading.
Dianne

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Happy Holidays!

Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, or any of a number of faith celebrations, Linda and I want to extend our good wishes to you this season.

Faith is a very personal consideration. I have had a client moving in from out of the area ask me if there is a prevalent church in Lake Oswego, and I honestly told her that there is not. I consider LO to be extremely diverse. While we do have 19 Christian Churches (including the Mormon Temple, a Korean United Methodist and a Chinese Faith Baptist) there are also 2 Buddhist Centers, a Synagogue, and the New Thought Center for Spiritual Living. Close by in Tigard is the Baps Hindu Temple, and not much further away in SW Portland is a Mosque. And if you find no need for formal worship, that’s OK too. Really, we are a very open community.

With Christmas Day falling on Sunday this year, there will not be an Open House report. Even Realtors need a Day off once in awhile.

May your holidays be blessed with happiness, may the New Year bring you prosperity, and may you find contentment and satisfaction in each and every day of your life.

Best wishes to you and yours,
Dianne and Linda

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The Gallery Without Walls

People's Choice 2011, "August Trunk"
The community of Lake Oswego loves art in a big way. In 1999 the Arts Council of Lake Oswego was founded as a non-profit to ensure the continuing support of art in the town, and one of their big accomplishments has been the Gallery Without Walls. The Gallery Without Walls consists of sculpture that is loaned to the community for a 2-year period. While it is on display it is offered for sale. At the end of the 2-year period the community votes on their favorite sculpture and the “People’s Choice” sculpture is purchased and added to the city’s permanent collection.

"Vincent" by Keith Jellum
Over the years this has allowed the city to acquire some wonderful art work that is displayed throughout town. There are currently about 60 sculptures that make up the art work on loan as well as the permanent collection. In driving around town, I have been enjoying the 15 new sculptures that were installed in July.

"Zen Beacon" by Thor Myhre
If you would like a tour of the pieces with the aid of a knowledgeable guide, private tours can be arranged by calling the Arts Council at 503.675.3738. You can also get a free phone app for your iphone by going to the Apple App Store and searching for L.O. Art tour. For your Smartphone go to www.artscouncillo.org/tour

And if you love art and want to get involved with the Arts Council, they are always looking for volunteers. Please call Cheryl Brock at 503.675.3738.

To view the permanent collection, click here.

To view the “People’s Choice” collection, click here.

"Jazz Drummer" by Mary Ann Baker
I really do believe that art enriches our lives in both subtle and profound ways. Even on one of those more difficult days, a piece of art will bring a smile to my face. And on glorious days, it just makes the day all the more enjoyable. I love art. I am so happy to live in a community that shares that love.